Brad Pitt Bringing His ‘Fury’ to London Film Festival

The Brad Pitt-starring tank drama Fury will be rumbling into the U.K. Oct. 19 for its European premiere and to close the BFI London Film Festival, it was announced Thursday.

Pitt and the film’s writer and director David Ayer have been confirmed to attend the closing night gala at London’s Leicester Square, with simultaneous screenings taking place in cinemas across the UK.

“Fury is a resounding cinematic achievement,” said BFI London Film Festival Director Clare Stewart. “Rarely is a film so successful at balancing the human drama of war with such thrilling action sequences. We looking forward to welcoming LFF alumni David Ayer and Brad Pitt to London as we draw the 58th BFI London Film Festival to a monumental close.”

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Ayer, whose End of Watch screened at the festival in 2012, said it was a “great honor” to be chosen for the closing night.

“It’s a true pleasure to be returning to England, where we shot the film – the fields of Oxfordshire and Bovingdon Airfield in Hertfordshire were our home for 12 weeks last year, so it’s something of a homecoming for us to present the movie at its European premiere,” he said. “I’m thrilled that festival audiences will be among the first in Europe to see it.”

Fury sees Pitt play a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy, in command of a U.S. Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a mission behind enemy lines as the allies make their final push against Germany in 1945. Produced by QED International’s Bill Block, alongside Ayer, Ethan Smith and John Lesher, the film also stars Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Jon Bernthal, Michael Pena, Jason Isaacs and Scott Eastwood. It is due for release in the U.S. on Oct. 17, having recently been moved by Sony from a Nov. 14 slot.

The announcement comes just three weeks following the news that the BFI London Film Festival festival would open with The Imitation Game, the dramatic portrayal of the life and work of Alan Turing, the British computing pioneer who is credited with cracking the German WWII Enigma code. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, the film will also receive its European premiere on Oct. 8 at London’s Odeon Leicester Square cinema. Cumberbatch, Knightley and The Imitation Game’s director Morten Tyldum are expected to attend.